The greatest threat to a virtual home isn’t fire or an earthquake — it’s a server shutdown.
Sony announced today that it is closing PlayStation Home on March 31. This will bring an end to the virtual community that first debuted on PlayStation 3 in 2008. Sony says it will stop releasing new content on Nov. 12, but gamers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe can continue downloading digital items until Dec. 3. Gamers were expecting this closure. Last month, GamesBeat reported that Sony was shutting down Home in Japan.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1562371,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"C"}']The publisher originally intended PS Home to act as a hub where gamers could gather, chat, and start up other PS3 games. It caught on with a small but dedicated audience, many of whom spent a significant amount of money on digital clothing and furniture.
“As a token of our tremendous gratitude to the community, we will also be releasing a series of free content prior to the platform’s closure on March 31, 2015,” reads a post on the PlayStation forums. “We would like to thank all of our fans for their support of the PlayStation Home platform over the years.”